


Can’t Be a Stranger

by MusictoMii



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dad Eddie kaspbrak, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute, Uncle Richie Tozier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-22 15:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22151905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusictoMii/pseuds/MusictoMii
Summary: When Richie walked into The Clubhouse Nursery to pick up his niece from daycare for the first time, the last thing he expected to hear was a child’s voice saying, “oh! You’re the funny man from the TV that my Daddy’s in love with!”
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 14
Kudos: 526





	Can’t Be a Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t stop writing meet-cutes!
> 
> Here’s one to hold you over while I finish planning out the much requested sequel to [”he’s not buying it, don’t freak out, okay?“](http://archiveofourown.org/works/21472684)

When Richie walked into The Clubhouse Nursery to pick up his niece from daycare for the first time, the last thing he expected to hear was a child’s voice saying, “oh! You’re the funny man from the TV that my Daddy’s in love with!” He turned, startled, and looked down to see a small boy with big brown eyes staring up at him inquisitively.

“Uhh…” 

He glanced quickly around the room but no one was paying them any mind. He scanned the faces of the adults milling around, but none of them looked as if they were related to the boy beside him. A gentle tug on his pant leg brought his attention back down.

“You are, aren’t you? My Daddy has watched your show on Netflix about a million _billion_ times!” Richie’s eyebrows flew up his forehead in surprise. The boy was looking up at him with a happy, excited smile and Richie found it impossible not to smile back. He crouched down so he was eye level with the boy and held out his hand.

“A million billion is a lot of times! Your Daddy must be a big fan. My name’s Richie.”

They boy beamed at him and shook Richie’s giant hand with his own tiny one, fingers barely stretching passed the center of Richie’s palm. “I’m Carter Kaspbrak. I’m five years old and I live with my Daddy and our doggy Moonshoes.”

Richie let out a startled laugh upon hearing the dog’s name, and quickly tried to stifle it behind his hand. He looked around the room again curiously. “Where is your Daddy, Carter? I don’t think he would be very happy that you were talking to strangers.”

Carter’s eyes widened. “Oh no, don’t worry, I know ALL about stranger danger, my Daddy made sure of that. But you’re not a stranger silly, my Daddy _loves_ you! Someone can’t be a stranger if you love them!”

Richie grimaced at the boys enthusiasm. He rubbed anxiously at the back of his neck. “Uh… I don’t think that’s how it works, little man.”

Carter opened his mouth, stubborn response on the tip of his tongue, when he was interrupted by a low, gravelly voice coming from the doorway behind Richie.

“Carter? What are you doing?”

Richie started, a pleasant thrum flowing through his body as the new voice washed over him. He whipped his head around as Carter let out a delighted gasp and disappeared from Richie’s side, flinging himself at the man who’d just arrived.

“Daddy!”

Richie’s eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat as he took in the gorgeous man Carter was now clinging to. He rose slowly to his feet, eyes raking over the man’s trim form. He was wearing a tight fitting baby blue button up, tucked into snug grey slacks. Richie watched entranced as his biceps flexed as he ran his hands protectively through his son's hair and down his arms, checking him for harm. Scanning down, Richie’s eyes lingered a beat too long on the swell of his thighs where Carter was hugging him tightly. His next words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them.

“Helloooo, _Daddy._ ”

The man froze. Richie’s eyes snapped to his face, his own burning from embarrassment, and took in the pink flush that had grown over the man’s freckled cheeks. 

“Excuse me?” 

_‘Fuck.’_ Richie mentally kicked himself.

The worried furrow of the man's eyebrows turned angry. His lips turned down into a frown, drawing Richie’s attention to the single dimple on his left cheek. “Who do you think you are?”

Richie remained silent. Internally, he was screaming at himself - a constant stream of _‘he’s hot, you’re such an idiot!’_ He took a steadying breath and schooled his features into a playful smile, feeling it grow with a wave of delight as he noticed Carter tugging on his dad’s pant leg eagerly.

“Daddy! He’s that funny man from the TV!”

The man looked at his son in confusion. “What funny man from the T-” His eyes widened. Richie bit his lip to muffle a laugh, embarrassment draining away as he watched the man’s face turn crimson. The man slowly lifted his head back up, making eye contact. Richie, feeling a new surge of confidence, quirked his eyebrow suggestively and smirked.

“Hey. I’m Richie. But from what your little man has told me, you definitely already know that.”

The man sputtered. Richie recognized a brief flash of awe flicker in his eyes before they hardened and narrowed in suspicion.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t know you had a kid…” he scanned the room behind Richie quickly, then snapped his attention back to the comedian, cutting him off just as he opened his mouth to respond. “And why were you talking to my son?” He looked back down at the boy still clinging to him. “Carter you know better than to go around talking to strangers. What if something happened to you?”

Carter frowned, looking up at his dad in confusion. “But Daddy, you _love_ Richie! He can’t be a stranger if you love him!”

The man let out a squawk of embarrassment, cheeks once again turning red. He pursed his lips and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to ground himself. He stubbornly refused to look back at Richie.

“Buddy, there’s a difference between being a fan of someone on TV and actually knowing them in real life. Just because _we_ recognize Richie doesn’t mean he knows who we are.”

Carter pouted and looked as if he was ready to argue when Richie cut in.

“Well, for the record,” he paused and waited for the man to look up at him. Giving him an obvious once over, Richie smirked, relishing in the mans sharp intake of breath. “I would _love_ to get t-” 

He was cut off by a shrill shriek of delight and a little girl's voice screaming at the top of her lungs.

_“Uncle Richie!”_

Startled, Richie turned, smug smirk brightening into a wide smile as he spotted a tiny blonde toddler barreling toward him. 

“Lollipop!” He leaned down just in time to prevent a collision and scooped the little girl off the ground and into his arms. She giggled as he pulled her into his chest, arms wrapped securely around her back, and buried her face into the crook of his neck as she squeezed him as hard as her little body would let her. Richie laughed, returning the embrace for a long moment before loosening his hold to prop her up on his hip and tugging gently at the end of her hair until she looked up at him. “How are you doing, my little songbird?”

Richie’s heart melted at the beaming smile the girl gave him. “Daddy didn’t tell me you were home! This is the best surprise ever!”

He gently tucked a stray hair behind her tiny ear and tilted his head to glance at her above his glasses, eyes sparkling mischievously. “Well I’ll be. Your Daddy must be the best secret keeper in this whole country. No! This whole _world!”_

His niece giggled and reached out to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with a tiny finger. Richie pretended to bite at her hand as she pulled it away, causing her to shriek with joy and fling her arms around his neck. A quiet, “missed you” whispered into the juncture of his shoulder had Richie hugging her tight again, one hand rubbing soothingly at her back.

“I missed you too, baby bird.”

The pair stood there for a moment, just relishing in the others presence, until another voice broke the silence.

“Hi, Lark!”

The girls head turned toward Carter in surprise. The boy was looking up at her with an excited smile. “I didn’t know you were related to Richie from the TV!” 

The girls eyebrows rose as she looked between Carter and her uncle.

“Uncle Richie, you know Carter?”

Richie shot a glance at Carter’s dad, catching the soft gaze in his eye before he could hide it. “I do now! I was just introducing myself to him and his daddy when you nearly bowled me over.” His words were accompanied by a tickle of his fingers against her side, earning himself another giggle. 

He turned, facing Carter’s dad head on and took a step forward, holding out his hand for a shake. The man looked wary, but all flirty pretense from before was gone.

“Hi, Carter’s dad. I’m Richie Tozier, Lark’s uncle and semi famous comedian. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

The man let out a breathy laugh of surprise, but quickly covered it with a cough. He eyed Richie for a beat, confliction evident on his face before he let out a small smile and slid his hand into Richie’s.

“I’m Eddie. Eddie Kaspbrak. It’s nice to meet you, Richie.”

Richie's heart skipped another beat at the contact. Eddie’s hand was warm and smooth and smaller than Richie’s own, fitting nicely against the curve of his palm. The men maintained eye contact and let their grip linger for a handful of seconds longer than a typical handshake, until Lark started wiggling in Richie’s arm and he had to let go to stabilize her.

“Mr. Eddie is the best! He lets me and Daddy come over to his house sometimes so I can play with Carter and Moonshoes. And he always has the best homemade snacks!”

Richie raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You know Stan?”

Eddie nodded. “He typically picks Lark up in the evening. We usually chat for a bit while the kids are getting ready to go. Turns out we grew up not too far from each other so we kind of bonded over our mutual hatred of rural Maine. I know Patty, too. She does morning drop off.”

Richie’s brows raised remarkably further. “You grew up in Maine? No way! Stan and I are childhood best friends so you must have been pretty close to me too!”

Eddie made a noise of interest, tilting his head and gazing at Richie inquisitively. “Stan’s never mentioned you.”

Richie pursed his lips. “He’s never mentioned you either. And trust me, he’s gonna be getting an earful about it.”

Eddie ducked his head to hide a smile then turned his attention down to his son. “Alright, Buddy. What do you say. Should we head home and try to figure out dinner? I’m sure Richie and Lark have a lot of catching up to do so shouldn’t keep them.”

Richie’s chest tightened in panic, wanting nothing _less_ than for Eddie to leave. He bit his lip as he watched the pair gather Carter’s things, trying desperately to find a reason to keep them around. Just as they turned to say their goodbyes, an idea popped into Richie’s head.

“Actually…” he paused, cutting the shorter man off as he opened his mouth to speak. Eddie’s mouth clamped shut and he looked at Richie in surprise. Richie glanced bashfully down at his niece, then looked up at Eddie through his eyelashes. “I _was_ planning to surprise Lark with ice cream for dinner on our way home,” he grinned at the girls delighted gasp, but plowed on unperturbed, “but I think it would be worth spoiling the surprise if you and Carter joined us. My treat.”

Eddie sputtered. “Oh no, we couldn’t impose like that. Really, it’s kind of you to offer but-” He’s cut off by Carter and Lark, both of whom had loudly started pleading. 

“Daddy, please! Please, please, _please!_ I'll do anything!”

“Please, Mr. Eddie? Uncle Richie is so cool, I _promise!_ He does the best voices and he’s the funniest person _ever!_ It’ll be so fun!”

Richie blinked in surprise at his niece’s words, expecting her to have talked up the ice cream rather than his company. _‘Right on, little lady. You could potentially be the best wing woman ever!’_ He schooled his expression into a smirk and looked back at Eddie. Richie recognized the look in the shorter man’s eyes as one of a man who had already been won over and was just putting on a challenging show. 

“What do you say, Mr. Eddie? I’ll even make you a bet.”

Eddie raised an intrigued eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Richie’s eyes twinkled with mischief behind his glasses. “You and the little man join us for ice cream. If I make you laugh while we’re there, you let me take you out for dinner on Friday. Just the two of us.”

Eddie bit back a smile. “And if you _don’t_ make me laugh?”

Richie winked at him. “Then dinner on Friday is your treat.”

Eddie laughed. He glanced down at the hopeful look in Carter’s eyes and let a warm smile overtake his face. Richie felt his breath leave his body in a rush as the smile was directed at him, a warm, pleasant tingle settling in his chest in its place.

“Alright then.” Eddie quirked his head toward the door, smile never faltering as the two children began to cheer. “It’s a date.”

Richie’s resulting smile was blinding. Reaching out, he gently took Eddie’s hand and gave it a squeeze, allowing the smaller man to interlock their fingers and tug him out the door.

When he made Eddie giggle ten minutes after sitting down by sneakily snagging a spoonful of Lark’s ice cream and giving himself brain freeze, Richie beamed, the promise of a date on Friday settling comfortably over his shoulders, and a happiness he didn’t know he was missing swirling gently in his chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Not my best ending but I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
